UCLA cornerback Marcus Rios returns after fungal infection

Just a few months after fighting for his life, Marcus Rios believes he is ready to play football.

Last fall, the UCLA cornerback came down with a rare fungal infection, one that spread from his sinuses to the base of his brain.

In February, he went through four different surgeries. He was confined to UCLA Medical Center for nearly a month, and had a catheter pumping antibiotics through his arm for months after that.

Two weeks ago, he finally had the line removed. On Tuesday, he returned to practice at Spaulding Field for the first time.

“I didn’t think it would come so fast,” said Rios, who played nine games as a freshman. “It ended up happening. I got a call from my doctor saying the medication’s going good. Your body’s responding to it well. There’s no need for a PICC line anymore.”

The removal allowed him to return to workouts unencumbered. He still gets checked by doctors every month, and undergoes an MRI every two to three months. The results are encouraging.

Once withered down to 130 pounds, he said he is back up to 175, and would suit up in full pads right now if coaches allowed him.

For another two weeks, he’ll be restricted to strength and conditioning workouts with assistant coach Sal Alosi. Although the staff is trying to ease him back into action, Rios thinks he could return to the field as soon as Oct. 3, when UCLA visits Utah to open conference play.

“I’m definitely playing this year,” he said. “That’s happening.”

Back in black

UCLA unveiled new alternate uniforms Tuesday morning, which the Bruins will wear in their Nov. 15 home game against Washington. Nicknamed “L.A. Midnight” in Adidas’ marketing campaign, the jerseys are almost entirely black, with a blue, palm-tree skyline on the palms of the gloves.

Advertisement

Head coach Jim Mora claimed he wasn’t aware of the new uniforms, but did elaborate a little bit on his strict dress code for game days. He allows minor tweaks, but otherwise insists on the same color of tape and shirts.

“I let them do their little ‘swag’ things,” Mora said. “The way they wear their towel, and only a few guys can do it. A little wristband there, a band around their knee. Other than that, they look the same. … That’s why it’s called a uniform.”

Four-star CB commits

His first official trip ended up becoming his last.

Four-star cornerback Adarius Pickett visited UCLA this past weekend, and enjoyed Los Angeles enough to commit to the Bruins on Tuesday and end his recruiting process.

The El Cerrito (Calif.) High star had offers from over 20 schools, including USC, Stanford, Cal, Arizona State and Nebraska.

“I was just talking to my parents about it and they said it’s my decision,” Pickett told the Bay Area News Group. “Today just seemed like a great day to do it.”

Rated the eighth-best cornerback in the country by Rivals.com, Pickett is easily the Bruins’ top defensive commitment for the 2014 recruiting cycle. A trio of other three-star defensive backs had verbally committed to UCLA prior to Pickett.